Kavinsky // Outrun

Kavinsky’s OutRun (2013), his debut full-length, is one of the greatest driving albums to come out in the last five years. You may know Kavinsky, aka French electronic artist, Vincent Belorgey, from his song “Nightcall” (also on this album) that was on the popular Drive soundtrack in 2011. Inspired by 1980s films, Italian horror films, and video games, the album’s concept is wonderfully cheesy: a guy is killed in a car crash with a Ferrari Testarossa in 1986, comes back years later as a zombie in a letterman jacket and drives around in the Testarossa, mooning over the girl he left behind, and making cool electronic music. Mostly an instrumental album, it’s full of sweeping synths and careening guitar riffs, the kind anybody that’s into nighttime cruising will love (listen to “ProtoVision,” “Rampage,” and “Grand Canyon”). Not to be outdone by the instrumentals, the vocal tracks also kick ass. “Nightcall” imagines a phone booth call between Kavinsky and his girl and “First Blood” features singer Tyson who belts it as if Tina Turner had an electro-pop makeover. When thinking of zombie costumes this Halloween, listen to OutRun for inspiration.